Awards and Recognition

The American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC), a subsidiary of the American Nurses Association, has honored John Muir Health with Magnet® recognition status for excellence in nursing services and quality nursing care at our Concord and Walnut Creek Medical Centers. The Magnet Recognition Program® recognizes health care organizations that demonstrate excellence and adherence to national standards for the organization and delivery of nursing services. Magnet recognition is the highest level of recognition that the ANCC can accord to a health care organization and honors the nursing service at the Walnut Creek Medical Center and the Concord Medical Center as two of the best in the nation.

John Muir Health has earned The Joint Commission’s Gold Seal of Approval™ for accreditation by demonstrating compliance with The Joint Commission’s national standards for health care quality and safety in hospitals. The accreditation award recognizes our dedication to continuous compliance with The Joint Commission’s state-of-the-art standards.

John Muir Health underwent a rigorous unannounced on-site survey and a team of Joint Commission expert surveyors evaluated us for compliance with standards of care specific to the needs of patients, including infection prevention and control, leadership and medication management.

John Muir Health has also been awarded disease-specific recognition for Stroke Care, Wound Care services and Lab Point-of-Care Testing.

Awarded for our commitment to offering rapid, research-based care to people experiencing an ST elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI), known to be more severe and dangerous than other types of heart attacks. Both of our medical centers are designated as Contra Costa County STEMI Receiving Centers for severe heart attack patients.

Both our medical centers have been recognized by the American Heart Association and American Stroke Association for our commitment to improving outcomes for patients with heart failure. This award is only given to hospitals who have demonstrated compliance to this high level of quality during the most recent 24-month or greater period. 

To qualify for this recognition, both our medical centers met the specific criteria for reducing the time between an eligible patient’s arrival at the hospital and administering treatment with the clot-busting drug, Alteplase. 

Awarded for our commitment to ensuring stroke patients receive the most appropriate treatment according to nationally recognized, research-based guidelines, ultimately leading to more lives saved and reduced disability. As part of this recognition, we also achieved Target: Type 2 Diabetes Honor Roll and Target: Stroke Elite Honor Roll.

This award signifies that specific criteria were met that reduce the time an eligible patient’s arrival at the hospital and treatment to remove the clot causing the stroke.

This award demonstrates that both of our hospitals ensure that our patients with Type 2 diabetes receive the most up-to-date, evidence-based care when hospitalized with us dure to heart disease or stroke.

John Muir Health’s Radiation Oncology programs at its Concord and Walnut Creek medical centers have received accreditation from The American College of Radiology (ACR), the nation’s oldest and most widely recognized radiation oncology and medical imaging accrediting body. This recognition places John Muir Health in the company of 200 radiation oncology facilities in the United States that are ACR accredited or in the accreditation review process, and the only hospitals in the East Bay to be recognized.

Our Concord and Walnut Creek Medical Centers have both received the highest level of Chest Pain Center Accreditation from the Society of Chest Pain Centers, an international non-profit focused on improving care for cardiac patients. John Muir Health's two hospitals are among only 500 hospitals nationwide accredited as Chest Pain Centers.

A Three-Year Accreditation was awarded to John Muir Health for the following programs:

• Hospital Inpatient Rehabilitation Program (Adult)
• Hospital Inpatient Rehabilitation Programs (Children and Adolescents)

The Accreditation Committee of the College of American Pathologists (CAP) has awarded a two-year accreditation to the Concord and Walnut Creek Medical Center Laboratories and the Microbiology Laboratory. The CAP accreditation process, which is considered equal-to or more-stringent-than the federal government’s own inspection program, ensures that laboratory patients are receiving the highest standard of care. John Muir Health's labs are three of more than 7,600 CAP-accredited facilities worldwide.

The Concord and Walnut Creek Medical Center Blood Banks have been granted accreditation from the American Association of Blood Banks (AABB). AABB’s Accreditation Program assesses the quality and safety of collecting, processing, testing, distributing and administering blood and cellular therapy products, as well as the quality and operational systems in place within our hospitals. The accreditation ensures that we have a level of professional and technical expertise that contributes to quality performance and patient safety.

Our Weight Loss Surgery Center has earned accreditation as a Comprehensive Center for Bariatric Surgery under the Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery Accreditation and Quality Improvement Program (MBSAQIP®), a joint program of the American College of Surgeons and the American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery. 

A bariatric surgical center achieves accreditation following a rigorous review process during which it proves that it can maintain certain physical resources, human resources and standards of practice. All accredited centers report their outcomes to the MBSAQIP database. The MBSAQIP accreditation ensures that bariatric surgical patients receive the benefits of a multidisciplinary program, not just a surgical procedure, which improves patient outcomes and long-term success. That means patients can expect the highest standards of safety and care.

Undersea and Hyperbaric Medicine Society Accreditation is the gold standard in hyperbaric facility accreditation. The John Muir Health, Walnut Creek Medical Center is one of only six hospitals in California with this accreditation, which is the only hyperbaric specific accreditation to be recognized by The Joint Commission. The accreditation means that our facility has met the highest standards of care and patient safety through a rigorous evaluation of the adequacy of our facility, equipment, staff and training. 

John Muir Health’s Walnut Creek Medical Center was the first hospital in Contra Costa County to receive prestigious international recognition from Baby Friendly USA as a Designated Baby-Friendly® birth facility. Breastfeeding is one of the best things you can do for your newborn. The World Health Organization and United Nations Children’s Fund recently released the 10 Steps to Successful Breastfeeding framework that Baby-Friendly hospitals like ours use to guide breastfeeding experiences from the moment a child is born. We are proud to be recognized for providing a level of care and range of services that help mothers achieve their baby’s nutritional goals. 

John Muir Health’s Walnut Creek Medical Center has earned The Joint Commission’s Gold Seal of Approval^® for Advanced Certification in Perinatal Care (ACPC) by demonstrating continuous compliance with its performance standards. According to The Joint Commission, the Gold Seal is a symbol of quality that reflects a health care organization’s commitment to providing safe and quality patient care and to improving the patient experience. The certification recognizes the Walnut Creek Medical Center’s efforts to achieve integrated, coordinated, and patient-centered prenatal through postpartum care, including both complicated and uncomplicated pregnancies.